The Future of Emergency Management

Representative Bureaucracy in Emergency Management: Attitudes About Contemporary Emergency Management Policy and Politics in Local Agencies

“…Even though there seemed to be disappointment against the Obama administration amongst the local officials, it was not limited in Republican districts to just his administration. The results demonstrate a level of disconnect between the federal desires of both administrations and the desire of local actors to retain local control in emergency situations in a manner similar to that expressed in previous research (Birkland and Waterman 2008;Chang 2017;Edwards 2007;Esinger 2004;Haddow 2005;Hildebrand 2015;Hill and Hupe 2003;Jensen 2011;Jensen and Waugh 2014;Jensen and Youngs 2014;Lester and Krejci 2007;McEntire 2004;Newmann 2002;Nicholson 2007;Scavo, Kearney, and Kilroy 2008;Schneider 2005;Takeda and Helms 2006;Waugh 2006;Wise 2002). This suggests that the idea of local flexibility that the federal policies have on paper may have some fans, but the changes since the September 11 attacks still have many detractors, and they cross partisan lines in the jurisdictions they represent when expressing their dissatisfaction with the direction from the federal level.…”

“…Criticism of federal actions and policies in the time since the September 11 attacks focus upon the priorities of DHS, which are considered to be too focused on terrorism at the expense of natural and accidental disasters (Birkland 2006;Birkland and Waterman 2008;Derthick 2009;Esinger 2004;Gerber and Robinson 2009;Haddow 2005;Hite 2006;Kahan 2015b;McEntire 2004;Roberts 2014;Schneider 2005;Tierney 2005;Waugh 2006;Waugh and Sylves 2002). Another critique of the policies is the perceived lack of coordination, accountability, and communication between layers of government and key actors in spite of what is desired by the federal policy demands.…”

“…DHS has the goal of enhancing the ability of federal, state, and local governments to coordinate before, and respond to catastrophic events of all varieties, particularly terrorism (Birkland 2009;Derthick 2009). However, there has been backlash throughout the field stemming from the scope of the changes, and the new responsibilities thrust upon local emergency management agencies who had little-to-no input on the policy design at the federal level (Esinger 2004;Haddow 2005;Kahan 2015a;McEntire 2004;Schneider 2005;Somers and Svara 2009;Waugh 2006;Waugh and Sylves 2002).…”

An Examination of Social Capital and Communications in Municipal Emergency Management

“…W. Perry et al, 2001). This situation leaves state capacity short of the necessary resources for immediate response in times of disaster, which is one of the foundational principles behind the creation of national preparedness programs, both in Canada through Public Safety Canada (PSC) and in the U.S. through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA; (Haddow et al, 2011;Meyer-Emerick, 2015).…”

“…The goal of a municipality's emergency management system is to respond to and recover from a significant disruption in normal life. Critical infrastructure and the protection of life remain the two most important responsibilities of the system (Haddow et al, 2011). To reduce the demand for emergency services at the onset of an event, municipalities strive to build resilience within their populations, deploying scarce resources to where they are needed most and will have the greatest impact, which is known as critical infrastructure (Rodríguez et al, 2007) , where tragedy has struck, and the time of need.…”